E-WALLET: EN ROUTE TO CASHLESS MALAYSIA
By Nurul Azlyna Mohd Rasidi (CIFP,Bach. Of Acc (Hons), CMI)
INTRODUCTION
The rapid growth of e-commerce and online shopping has prompted a hassle-free system that allows users to opt for digital transactions. Undoubtedly, digital transactions are getting popular and today, almost all goods and services can be paid easily through any kind of digital transactions such as e-wallet. E-wallets are the next evolution in payment systems
A report from Market Research Future noted that global e-wallet market has estimated a growth rate of 15% by the end of 2023. It is expected to reach a revenue mark of USD 2,100 billion through the review period of 2016-2023 (refer to chart 1).
According to Investopedia, E-wallet or also known as digital wallet is defined as a system that securely stores users' payment information and passwords. Thus, it eliminates the need to enter bank or card details every time a transaction is takes place. It serves a function much like a physical wallet.
Many e-wallet services such as Paytm, and Freecharge are operating in the form of mobile payment. E-wallet can also be used to store loyalty card information and digital coupons.
An E-wallet needs to be linked with the individual’s bank account and requires the users to load money into the e-wallet app before making purchases. The amount will be automatically deducted from their e-money balance when the users pay the goods and services. E-money is the digital number inside an e-wallet, representing the real- physical coins and notes.
Reiterating the potential of e-wallet, a study conducted by the European Central Bank in 2012 shows that countries with high usage of e-payments as compared to cash and cheques incurred a lower retail payment cost of as low as 0.42% of GDP, while countries with low usage of e-payments as compared to cash and cheques incurred a higher retail payment cost of as high as 1.35% of GDP.
Thereby, this paper is intended to present the insights on e-wallet industry in Malaysia. It also aims to highlight the development in the industry and to gauge potentials available in the market.
E-Wallet
Source: Kreditpedia
Chart 1: E-Wallet Market: Global
Source: Market Resource Future
THE E-WALLET INDUSTRY IN MALAYSIA
THE DEVELOPMENT
In the quest to engage in the digital economy, migration to electronic transactions (e- transaction) is a critical component for Malaysia. Today, Malaysians are very much accustomed to the next-day delivery, e-commerce and mobile shopping.
According to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), e-wallet benefits the country through greater efficiency gains estimated to be up to 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly and lower risk of leakages to the shadow economy, particularly through illicit activities such as tax evasion and corruption1. Undoubtedly, e-wallet is another great invention in the financial affair that able to boost the country’s competitiveness. It is deemed to be cheaper, safer and more efficient financial mechanism.
The e-wallet space has been particularly vibrant and saw rapid growth where e- payment acceptance points such as point-of-sale (POS) terminals have more than doubled to 16 terminals per thousand inhabitants in 2018. More merchants are also accepting QR payments with over 400,000 registrations recorded to-date. Meanwhile, e-payment transactions have almost tripled to 125 transactions per capita in 2018 while the cheque transaction continued to drop (refer chart 2).
Standing at RM12.2 billion with 1.53 billion transactions as at September 2019, e-money transactions are expected to cross RM13 billion this year. Based on the central bank’s electronic payment data, there were 1.92 billion transactions for e-money with a total value of RM11 billion in 2018.
1 BNM Quarterly Bulletin: Transforming Mobile Phones into E-Wallets in Malaysia Chart 2: Basic Payment Indicator
Transaction Volume Per Capita (unit - in billion):
Cheques E-Payments
124.6 110.6 97.5 82.6 70.9
5.8 4.7 4.2 3.7 3.1
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Source: Bank Negara Malaysia
There has been a positive adoption of e-wallets amongst Malaysians, a research by Oppotus shown. However, most of the users are deemed to be the young professionals from millennial group (25-34 year-olds).
Chart 3 – Positive Adoption
Source: Oppotus
In the recent development, GrabPay has adopted Malaysia’s national QR payments standard, DuitNow QR that made it the first e-wallet in Malaysia to do so. Currently, there are 4 Banks are already offering DuitNow QR in their mobile banking apps, with 25 banks expected to implement DuitNow QR over the next 6 months. Meanwhile 15 other e-wallet providers and non-bank merchant acquirers have also applied for admission into the DuitNow scheme.
DuitNow QR is established under BNM’s Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework (ICTF) that enables users to make payments from any participating banks or e-wallets. Merchants would only need to display one QR Code, the DuitNow QR, to accept payments.
Partnered with Mastercard, Grab has also introduced its very own card that is tied to the GrabPay e-wallet. It comes in both digital and physical forms. Grab users can earn GrabRewards points wherever Mastercard cards are accepted. However, the card will only be available in Malaysia in the first half of 2020.
Apart from that, the federal government is in the midst of testing the e-Tunai Rakyat -- an e-wallet system and software for the people. It is the government’s initiative to encourage the public, small businesses and retail stores to accept and use digital payments.
The latest partnership between UnionPay and Boost will allow its customers to use its e- wallet services at 11 million merchants across 31 countries; a bold move by Boost that strengthens its presence in the market.
In the surprising development, one of the first e-wallets to launch in Malaysia, vcash, will cease operations from December 2019, with owners Digi citing a "change in business strategy". This development has left the market wonder on the possibility of mergers and consolidation between the players.
THE PLAYERS: A PACKED MARKET
Malaysia is deemed to be a prime market for the growth of e-wallets, due to its high potential and favourable demographics to boost e-wallet adoption in the country. It is projected to grow to US$20 billion (RM83.8 billion) by 2024, according to PriceWaterCooper Malaysia; undeniably a huge figure that attracts fintech players to join the bandwagon.
E-wallet in Malaysia can be broadly categorised as card-based and network-based. Card-based e-wallet rides on the existing card network while network-based stores e- money on the network. Both types of e-wallets issue e-money and can pay multiple merchants.
As at the paper is written, BNM has issued 48 licenses with 5 of them are banks and the remaining 43 licensees are non-banks. Users in Malaysia are certainly spoilt for choice of e-wallet providers.
BANKS
No BANKS PRODUCTS
1 Ambank (M) Berhad Prepaid Card (Mastercard)
2 Bank Of China (M) Berhad Prepaid Card (China Union Pay)
Prepaid Card (Mastercard) 3 Cimb Bank Berhad Cimb Pay
Prepaid Card (Visa) 4 Malayan Banking Berhad Maybank Pay Maybank Qr Pay
5 Rhb Bank Prepaid Card (Visa)
NON-BANKS
NO OF CUSTOMERS/ SUBSIDIARY OF/ NO COMPANY PRODUCT CATEGORY INSTALLS AT GOOGLE FOUNDER PLAY
More than 4.6million 1 AEON Retail AEON Credit AEON Member card members Services (M) Berhad Plus Card 2 AirPay Malaysia ShopeePay SEA Group Retail -10,000,000+ Sdn. Bhd.
3 Alipay Malaysia Sdn AliBaba Group Retail 100,000,000+ Bhd (fka helloPay Lazada Wallet Malaysia Sdn Bhd)
4 Axiata Digital Boost Axiata Group Telco 1,000,000+ eCode Sdn. Bhd.
5 Bandar Utama City ONECARD / 1PAY First Nationwide -25,000 1PAY Real Estate Centre Sdn. Bhd. E- wallet Group immediate users
6 BigPay Malaysia Specialty BigPay Air Asia 500,000+ Sdn. Bhd. Finance
Celcom eCommerce Sdn. 7 Bhd. (fka Celcom N/A Axiata Group Telco N/A Multimedia (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.)
8 Chevron Malaysia Caltex StarCard Chevron Group O&G N/A Limited Debit
DIV Services Sdn 9 Whalet (for school Bhd (fka ePetrol Dialog Group O&G 1,000+ use) Services Sdn Bhd)
10 Fass Payment Fasspay Soft Space Fintech -NA- Solutions Sdn. Bhd.
Finexus Cards Sdn. 11 Visa / Master Bhd. (fka MAA Finexus Group Fintech -NA- Prepaid Card Cards Sdn. Bhd.) 1,000+ 12 Fullrich Malaysia China Barrington TaPay Fintech Sdn Bhd Group
13 Gkash Sdn. Bhd. Gkash eWallet -NA- Fintech 100+ 14 Google Payment Google Play Gift Data Google Malaysia -NA- Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Card Processing
15 GPay Network (M) GrabPay Mobile Grab -NA- Sdn Bhd Technology
Instapay Mr Rajnish 16 Instapay e-Wallet Technologies Sdn. Kumar, CFA Fintech -NA- Instapay Card (CEO) Bhd.
17 iPay88 (M) Sdn. iPay88 e-Wallet NTT Data IT Services -NA- Bhd.
18 I-Serve Payment UChatPay -NA- Fintech 1,000+ Gateway Sdn Bhd
19 JuruQuest Consulting Sdn. QBpay e-wallet -NA- Fintech 10,000+ Bhd. KiplePay Sdn. Bhd. 20 kiplePay / Green Packet Telecomm (fka Webonline Dot 50,000+ kiplePark Bhd unication Com Sdn. Bhd.)
21 ManagePay ManagePay Mpay Fintech 5,000+ Services Sdn. Bhd. Systems Berhad
22 Maxis Broadband Telecomm Prepaid Airtime Maxis -NA- Sdn. Bhd. unication
23 Merchantrade Asia Merchantrade Mr.Ramasamy Fintech 100,000+ Sdn Bhd Money Veeran
Mobile Money 24 Mr. Lee Eng Sia Fintech -NA- International Sdn. Money Pin (Founder) Bhd.
25 MobilityOne Sdn MobilityOne eM-onei IT 100+ Bhd Limited
Fintech 26 MOL AccessPortal Razer Gold / Pay MOL Global Inc 500,000+ Sdn. Bhd. 27 MRuncit Commerce Sdn. Mcash -NA- Fintech 50,000+ Bhd. MyEG Alternative 28 MyEG Services Technology 100+ Payment Services iPayEasy Bhd Sdn Bhd
Numoni DFS Sdn. Numoni Pte. Ltd. 29 NAPP (Numoni Bhd. (fka Com2U Singapore Fintech 1,000+ App) Sdn. Bhd.)
30 Financial PayPal, Inc. 100,000,000+ PayPal Pte. Ltd. PayPal Services
Petron Fuel 31 Petron Prepaid Petron International Sdn. O&G -NA- Fleet Card Corporation Bhd. Presto Pay Sdn. 32 Media and PUC Bhd 10,000+ Bhd. (fka EPP Presto Pay advertising Solution Sdn. Bhd.) Syed Hassan 33 Syed Alwi Fintech 100+ qBayar Sdn. Bhd. qBayar Alhabshee (CEO)
34 Raffcomm Sdn. e-Info -NA- IT 10,000+ Bhd.
35 Shell Malaysia Shell Prepaid Card Shell O&G -NA- Trading Sdn. Bhd.
Wholly owned by SiliconNet 36 the Sarawak State- Technologies Sdn. Sarawak Pay 100,000+ State owned Bhd. Government.
Teratai Group of 37 SMJ Teratai Sdn Bhd eWANG Companies Fintech 5,000+
38 Touch 'n Go Sdn. Touch 'n Go Financial 11 million cards in CIMB Bhd. Prepaid card Services circulation 39 TNG Digital Sdn. Touch 'n Go Financial CIMB 5,000,000+ Bhd. eWallet Services
40 Valyou Sdn. Bhd. Valyou Telenor Group Telco 50,000+
Mr. Brahma 41 Wavpay Systems Shakthi (CEO) Waypay Fintech -NA- Sdn Bhd
20 million existing 42 WeChat Pay Tencent Holdings Media WeChat users in WeChat Pay Limited Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Malaysia
43 XOX Com Sdn. Bhd. XOX eWallet XOX Berhad Telco -NA-
NO COMPANY PRODUCT BENEFITS OFFERED
1 AEON Credit AEON Member Plus - Doubles as both a prepaid card and an AEON membership loyalty card Services (M) Berhad Card
2 AirPay Malaysia Sdn. ShopeePay - Limited to topping up and withdrawal of funds Bhd. - No credit or debit card options here.
- Can only be used within Shopee platform
A/C Type Top Up Withdrawal Wallet Balance Limit Basic Available Not RM500 Available Premium Available Available RM1500
3 Alipay Malaysia Sdn Lazada Wallet - An online prepaid account Bhd (fka helloPay - Top up via online banking Malaysia Sdn Bhd) - Wallet size: RM4,999
- It doesn’t allow wallet to wallet transfers among Lazada users
- Can’t be used on other platforms
- Can withdraw money but it is only for refunds
- Enable merchants in Malaysia to accept payment from Chinese tourists. 4 Axiata Digital eCode Boost - Prepaid top –up Sdn. Bhd. - Digital shop (and gifiting)
- Scan QR to pay (offline and online)
- Peer to peer funds transfer
- Existing Celcom number user can make credit payments through the wallet
- Bill payments
- Pay street parking (under DBKL)
- Public Transports
- No reward points system
- Offers financial products: micro credit, micro remittance and micro insurance
- Wallet size:
Wallet Basic Premium Wallet RM200 RM1,500 Size/Cash-in Limit Payment Limit RM1,000 (per RM4,500 (per month) month) Funds Transfer RM100 (per RM500 (per Limit month) month) Cash-Out Limit Not available RM4,500
5 Bandar Utama City ONECARD / 1PAY E- - Link to debit/ credit cards/ bank Centre Sdn. Bhd. wallet - Allows up to a maximum of RM1,500 cash balance debit/credit cards/bank
- Receive and transfer funds to other E-Wallet users
- E-Voucher rewards
- Can be used in participating merchants in 1 Utama, One World Hotel, Centrepoint and The Club. 6 BigPay Malaysia Sdn. BigPay - Fund transfer through bank cards/ via bank transfer. Bhd.
- Mastercard-enabled card
- International remittances at a fixed fee per corridor
- The wallet will waive AirAsia credit card processing fees
- In-app currency converters
- Peer to peer fund transfer
- BigPoints rewards points
- Savings on AirAsia bookings
- Physical card available
- Wallet size at RM10,000 7 Celcom N/A -N/A- eCommerce Sdn. Bhd. (fka Celcom Multimedia (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.) 8 Chevron Malaysia Caltex StarCard - Debit card
Limited Debit - Can set who is the card user
- Can set limits on the amount spent
- Can set types of purchases made
- No Fees
- Interest-free credit
- Prepaid amount loaded
- Minimum RM1,000 to open a StarCard Debit account
9 DIV Services Sdn Bhd Whalet (for school - For School Use (fka ePetrol Services use) - Bank-backed prepaid card Sdn Bhd) - The maximum balance limit on each Whalet account is RM200
- This amount is shared by all Whalet cards linked to the same Whalet account
- Allows refund of the unutilized balance
- Pay bills
- Mobile airtime reload
- Exclusively designed and curated for loyal RFL users who have been exchanging trash for cash 10 Fass Payment Fasspay - Top Up process through online banking/ credit/debit card. Solutions Sdn. Bhd. - Funds transfer
- Rewards Programmes (Coupon, Vouchers, Discount, Rebate)
- Scan QR code to pay 11 Finexus Cards Sdn. Visa / Master - No bank account needed Bhd. (fka MAA Cards Prepaid Card - Visa payWave and Mastercard paypass Sdn. Bhd.) Functionalities
- Able to withdraw cash through ATM card locally and overseas
- Cash withdrawal, the daily limit is RM2,990
- Maximum Card Account limit at any one time is RM10,000 12 Fullrich Malaysia Sdn TaPay - Localised e-wallet -Cyberjaya Bhd - Scan QR code to pay
- Redeem rewards
- Transfer money 13 Gkash Sdn. Bhd. Gkash eWallet - Scan QR code to pay
- Transfer money
- Wallet reload limit: RM200 14 Google Payment Google Play Gift - The prepaid top up card for Google Play Balance. Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. Card - To buy apps, content or subscription from the Google Play store
- Available in denominations of RM50, RM100, and RM200
- Each Google account can store a maximum of RM2,999 in credits 15 GPay Network (M) GrabPay - Earn Grab Rewards Sdn Bhd - Shop with points
- Top up using a credit/ debit card/ online banking
- An automatic top-up when GrabPay Credits balance falls below a threshold
- A post-paid payment facility
- Subscription service for cost-effective spending plans
- Spilt the bill
- No cash back, can’t be used for certain services 16 Instapay Instapay e-Wallet - Prepaid Mastercard Technologies Sdn. Instapay Card - Option to own a physical Instapay Prepaid Bhd. Mastercard
- Able for cash withdrawals via Bank ATMs
- E-Wallet balance, up to a maximum of RM5,000 - Withdraw cash from account
- Instapay Prepaid Mastercard’s PIN
17 iPay88 (M) Sdn. Bhd. iPay88 e-Wallet - Top-up available via online banking
- Two level authentication via dedicated OTP mobile app available on Android
18 I-Serve Payment UChatPay - Top up via online banking/ credit/ debit card Gateway Sdn Bhd - Spilt the bill
- Earn Rewards
19 JuruQuest QBpay e-wallet - Deposits cash Consulting Sdn. Bhd. - Cash withdrawals
- Peer-to-peer fund transfers
- Offers in-app purchases
- Loyalty card storage
- Scan QR code to pay
- The Maximum amount per transaction is RM 190 for turnover limits.
- A minimum of RM10 must keep in the wallet balance 20 KiplePay Sdn. Bhd. kiplePay / kiplePark - Serves the 3E sectors, namely education, e- commerce and large enterprise (fka Webonline Dot Com Sdn. Bhd.) - Top-up with online banking/ credit/debit card
- Scan static QR to pay
- Pay at Table – on the spot payment, even without going to the counter
- Order at Table – hassle free ordering from mobile phone, without having to wave at the restaurant staff
- Mobile prepaid reloads
- Pay utility bills - Peer to peer fund transfers
- Track spending and savings
- Loyalty programs
- Safe and secure as each payment transaction requires PIN or fingerprint to be authorized
- Maximum amount in store is RM200
- Withdraw kiplePay cash to be transferred to own bank account 21 ManagePay Services Mpay - Scan QR code to pay Sdn. Bhd. - Peer to peer fund transfer
- Pay bills
- Mobile reload
- Track the spending
- On demand parcel delivery
- Discounts
- Invest & borrow money in times of need
- Purchase insurance
- Donate to favourite charity
-Able to use without having to deposit money into the wallet first
- Affiliated with MasterCard 22 Maxis Broadband Prepaid Airtime - Purchase and activate the Hotlink plan which comes with pre-loaded airtime Sdn. Bhd. 23 Merchantrade Asia Merchantrade - Hybrid physical prepaid multi-currency card with e-money Sdn Bhd Money - Buy and sell up to 20 foreign currencies
- Can lock-in exchange rates to protect against currency fluctuations
- Spend at Visa merchants worldwide with no hidden charges on overseas spending.
- Pay for online and retail purchases with payWave or with PIN & Pay
- Withdraw cash
- Online money transfers to over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
- Online money exchange, buy currency online and pick up in store
- Get daily breakdown on spending
- Exchange and hold up to 20 foreign currencies in the app
- Split the bill
- Customised security
- Freeze/unfreeze it within the app in the event of missing card
24 Mobile Money Money Pin - Remit money to oversea International Sdn. - Bill payment Bhd. - Prepaid top up
- Tracking report
25 MobilityOne Sdn Bhd eM-onei - Scan QR code to pay
- Mobile prepaid reload
- Bill payment 26 MOL AccessPortal Razer Gold / Pay - Buy games, entertainment, food, mobile top-ups and more. Sdn. Bhd.
- Funds transfer
- Cash out money from Razer Pay™ to bank account at any time.
- Fund top up via online banking or through participating merchants. - Scan QR code to pay
- Partnership with Visa to introduce a virtual prepaid Visa card
27 MRuncit Commerce Mcash - Scan QR code to pay
Sdn. Bhd. - Great discount for Airtime & Game Reload
- Reward points
- Special offers; Daily Spin & Win Feature
- Keep track with expenses with transaction history
- Financing; PTPTN, Courts loan repayment and SSPN accounts deposit, available
- Renew insurance and road tax 28 MyEG Alternative iPayEasy - Maximum wallet limit of RM1,500 per customer Payment Services - Cash in iPayEasy is secured with a PIN Sdn Bhd - Scan QR code to pay
- Wallet limit
Wallet Limit Basic Wallet Premium Wallet
Wallet Amount Limit RM500 RM1500
Daily Transaction Limit RM500 RM1000
WithdrawalFund Not available Available
29 Numoni DFS Sdn. NAPP (Numoni App) - Remittance at competitive rates Bhd. (fka Com2U - Top up via online banking/ ATM card Sdn. Bhd.) 30 PayPal Pte. Ltd. PayPal - World class security
- Free return shipping
- Earn rewards
- Millions of merchants around the world
- Refund is applicable
- Link all cards in one place and choose preferred way to pay 31 Petron Fuel Petron Prepaid Fleet - Physical card International Sdn. Card - Cashless payment Bhd. - Top up credits through cash deposit/ cheque/ online banking
- Use card at fuel pump terminals, or through payment counters in the Treats store.
- Earn Petron Miles points for fuel purchase,
- Redeem points for instant rewards. 32 Presto Pay Sdn. Bhd. Presto Pay - Top up via JomPAY/ credit/debit cards (fka EPP Solution - Scan QR code to pay Sdn. Bhd.) - Prepaid mobile credits
- Prepaid Game Credit
- Bills payment
- Lucky Money – Send money to more than one person by splitting the amount of lucky money into equal or random values to a targeted number of recipients
- Funds transfer
- Withdraw from PrestoPay to Malaysian bank account
- Enjoy worry-free online and offline payment with PIN, biometric authorization, and security encryption. 33 qBayar Sdn. Bhd. qBayar - Encourage the creation of a cashless campus environment
34 Raffcomm Sdn. Bhd. e-Info - An Internet based service to provide search and purchase of registered company (ROC) and business (ROB) information online.
- This is an alternative to over the counter transactions.
- Accessible through Internet connection using online payment such as Prepaid, Credit Card. 35 Shell Malaysia Shell Prepaid Card - Physical card Trading Sdn. Bhd. - Accepted securely at Shell nationwide and all American Express merchants worldwide.
- Enjoy up to 10% discount on selected Shell lubricant products at Shell Select stations.
- First year free Total Permanent Disability PA Insurance coverage.
- Earn Maybank TREATSPoints & BonusLink points
- Cash withdrawal at Maybank ATMs nationwide 36 SiliconNet Sarawak Pay - Scan QR code to pay Technologies Sdn. - Fund Transfer Bhd. - Subscribe and pay bills
- View subscribed bills
- Split the bills
- Check history to view the list of previous transactions
- Get rewarded with instant cash backs
- Top up via online banking/credit/debit Card
- Top up & withdrawal via BSN AgentS 37 SMJ Teratai Sdn Bhd eWANG - Scan QR code to pay
- Transfer money overseas instantly
- Reload on prepaid Phone Bill - Pay Bills
- Top up via FPX/any SMJ Counters / Remittance Agent
- Users may also create own transaction draft at home and grab the rate, then come over to counter and pay by cash.
- Track and manage transactions
- Cash withdrawal at SMJ Teratai outlets.
- Use secure mobile OTP to authorize transactions with peace of mind 38 Touch 'n Go Sdn. Touch 'n Go Prepaid - Physical card Bhd. card - A mode of payment for highways, public transports, selected parking, retail and theme parks.
- More than 20 million cards in circulation
- Use Touch ‘n Go card for purchases as low as RM1
- 9,000 points nationwide of Touch ‘n Go reload point
- Each Touch 'n Go card can store only up to RM1,500 39 TNG Digital Sdn. Bhd. Touch 'n Go eWallet - Reload wallet via online banking, credit/debit card, reload pin or auto reload
-Set auto reloads for as low as RM20
- Prepaid top up
- Peer to peer fund transfer
- Pay at DBKL parking zones
- Book movies, flight ticket
- Pay postpaid bills, utility bills and even PTPTN loan
- Rewards and promotions
- The wallet size: RM200 RM1,500 RM5000
Upgrade Upon Save credit/ -Sign up RFID Method Registration debit card as favourite -Account Verification Service -All payment -All payment -All payment allowed transaction transaction transaction
-Reload -Reload -Reload
-PayDirect -PayDirect -PayDirect
-Receive -Receive -RFID Money Money -Receive & Transfer Money Daily Payment: Payment: Payment: Transacti RM3,000 RM3,000 RM3,000 (exclude on Limit (exclude (exclude transportation) transportation) transportation) -Transfer Money: RM 1,000 Monthly Payment: Payment: -Payment & Transacti RM4,500 RM4,500 Transfer Money: on limit (exclude (exclude RM4,500 (exclude transportation) transportation) transportation) Annual All: RM 50,000 All: RM 50,000 All: RM 50,000 Transacti (including (including (including on Limit transportation) transportation) transportation) (based on calendar year)
40 Valyou Sdn. Bhd. Valyou - International remittance
- Mobile prepaid top up
- Peer to peer fund transfer
- Pay bills
- Deposit money via any Prabhu Money Transfer branches, any designated agents/retailers or via digital way.
- Withdrawal money Mobile Wallet via any Prabhu Money Transfer branches, any designated agents/retailers or via digital way.
Basic Enhanced Premium
Wallet size & Up to RM500 Up to RM1,500 Up to RM5,000 identification 1)Provide 1)Provide 1)Perform a Face requirement Identification Identification to Face document document verification and number number identification 2)Take a Selfie 2)Upload an document image of the sighted by a Identification Valyou Staff Document
3)Take a Selfie Remittance Unavailable Unavailable Up to RM3,000/d ay and RM5,000/m onth Reload Available Available Available prepaid Bill payments Available Available Available
P2P Transfer Unavailable Up to RM50/da Up to RM1,000/d y ay Cash-in Available only Available only Available via Cash In via Cash In Merchants Merchants Cash-out Unavailable Unavailable RM500/day
41 Wavpay Systems Sdn Waypay -NA- Bhd
42 WeChat Pay WeChat Pay - Scan QR code to pay Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. - Funds top up
- Link to debit cards
- Peer-to-peer transactions.
- Money Packets: Individual Money Packet and Group Money Packet.
- Top up mobile prepaid
- Purchase bus and airline tickets
- Withdraw the balance into own bank accounts in Malaysia. The withdrawal limit is set at MYR10,000 per calendar month.
- Withdrawal limits per wallet account and per bank account is MYR4,500.
- Users are required by default to enter a 6-digit payment password for authorisation before payment.
- Buying Petrol using AI. Users can select a petrol station, amount of fuel they’d like to purchase and when they arrive at the kiosk, a camera will detect the car plate number to activate the pump. Petrol purchases can all be done in-app. - Order and Pay; an online ordering service via WeChat Pay. 43 XOX Com Sdn. Bhd. XOX eWallet - Available with a virtual or physical prepaid Mastercard
- Payment for any purchase of goods and services via online websites;
- Cash in subject to the Wallet Limit
- Fund withdraw in refundable case
- Bills payment from participating merchants
- Peer to peer fund transfer
- Can buy Steam gift cards for Steam gamers
Apart from the list as in Bank Negara’s page, it is important to highlight other players who are already in the scene but not listed in the page. Some of these players are often mentioned by the industry observers although they are not exactly an e-wallet provider due to its characteristics. Fave for example do not consider themselves an e- wallet as the app cannot store any money.
PLAYERS WHO ARE NOT IN THE LIST
NO COMPANY PRODUCT NO OF INSTALLS AT BENEFITS OFFERED GOOGLE PLAY
1 U Mobile GoPayz 10,000+ -Pay bills
-Funds transfer
-Pay and shop anywhere that accepts Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay.
- Get Insured. No health check documents
- Perform remittance at competitive rates to 11 countries
- Make investment from as low as RM3/day with sales charge from as low as 0% instead of 3% from banks.
- Get constant rewards
- Wallet size:
Basic Premium Wallet Wallet Wallet Limit RM5,000 RM5,000 Cash Withdrawal NA Available P2P Transfer NA Available Top-Up functions Available Addition of Other Payment NA Available Card Optional physical Card NA Available
2 GoodApps Good Kredit 10,000+ - Access to short term emergency cash via Inc GoodKredit™ Microloan
- Scan QR code to pay
- Pay bills
- Buy mobile top up 3 Samsung Samsung Pay - Doesn’t store any funds
- It stores payment card information
- MFT technology allows a smartphone or smartwatch to mimic the magnetic strip on a credit card, allowing it to work without any additional investment from merchants
-Confined to selected Samsung branded smartphones and smartwatches. Petronas Setel 100,000+ - It uses GPS location tracking in order to facilitate payments at a participating Petronas station
- Limited to only selected Petronas stations at the moment.
4 Fave 1,000,000+ - Link to Amex, MasterCard and Visa credit / debit cards.
- Scan the unique QR code to pay
- Discounts and Cash backs
- Table Ordering feature for restaurants
Grab app recently has been ranked as Malaysia’s most actively used mobile e-wallets in the third quarter of 2019 (Q3 2019). It is, as matter of fact, was at the top since its launch in Q3 2018. Unsurprisingly as Grab is still considered a super-app with services such as ride-hailing, food, and delivery integrated under a single application.
It is also an obvious observation that the market is strongly dominated by the big players, leaving other smaller players to work harder to position themselves in the market.
Chart 4: Usage of e-wallet brands
Source: iprice
CHALLENGES
Notwithstanding on the massive potential, the packed local e-wallet market is facing few challenges including:
Sustainability
Aggressive promotions, discounts, cash back and rewards for customer acquisition and retention impose heavy cost for the market players. Currently, adoption of e-wallets is heavily based on promotions, causing many consumers to download mobile wallet apps without necessarily using them.
Thus, the next question is on how players can remain sustainable in the long run or they might be the next vcash.
Well-served by other means of cashless payment
Malaysians are largely familiar with cashless payment as shown in Nielsen Payment Landscape Report. 67% of Malaysians use some form of cashless payment with debit card (63%) and online banking (57%) being the primary method. A mere 8% of the population uses mobile wallets as a means of payment.
Thus, what’s the pull factor for Malaysian consumers beyond just promotions?
Chart 5: Cashless methods in Malaysia
Source: Nielsen, Malaysian Payment Landscape 2018
Too many e-wallets?
Too many choices sometimes put off the interest especially for those who have experienced (and comfortably using it) other forms of cashless payment. With the 48 players in the market (excluding those are not in the BNM’s list), users can get easily confused of which products do they go as the benefits offered are almost similar. The more competitive players get, the less differentiated the products will be as eventually everyone would want to do everything.
Slow adoption of Duitnow QR
It can be confusing and hassle experience for both users and merchants without unified QR code.
Security is the concern
Security is the main concern among the non-users to be reluctant to adapt e-wallets. Contactless payment presents huge unknown risk and fraud like leaked data, hacking, undetected malware, e-wallet vulnerabilities.
As the Nielsen Payment Landscape Report points out, 46% of non-users point to security concerns as their biggest barrier to giving e-wallets a try. When it comes to perceived security concerns, up to 59% believe that e-wallets can lead to credit and debit card fraud, while 38% are concerned about missing transactions. WAY FORWARD: WILL THE CROWDED MARKET STAY?
The fact is not all Malaysians are familiar with e-wallets; no case of beggars showing the QR code is mentioned so far to compare with situation in China.
Nevertheless, cashless transactions are foreseeable future for Malaysia with e-wallets being one of the propellers of a digital economy. It simplifies the payment system as well as to improve the financial inclusion, even to the unbanked population in the country. With the high penetration rate of internet (86%) and smartphone (64%) in Malaysia, the future for e-wallet is enormous. To drive higher e-wallet adoption among Malaysians, government has rolled out few stimulus initiatives such as the waive-off of Instant Transfer fee of 50 sen for transactions up to RM5,000 per transaction made by individuals and SMEs effective 1 July 2018.
Another initiative is an additional contribution of RM198 million from financial institutions pumped into the e-Payment Incentive Fund (ePIF); a fund that will be used to assist account holders to migrate efficiently to e-payments.
The latest initiative introduced in the Budget 2020 was called ‘rangsangan digital' initiative that saw the allocation of RM450mil. Malaysians aged 18 years and above and earning RM100,000 and below a year will be entitled to a one-off payment of RM30 that can be claimed from Jan 1 to Feb 29 next year. To receive the payment, users will need a verified account with selected e-wallet operators.
As shown in the research report by Oppotus, there are an estimated 3.4 million more Malaysians who are considering the adoption of e-wallet usage with Gen Z and non- professionals leading the way.
Thus, the intense battle among the local e-wallet players is likely to continue, not only to tap on this segment but also those who have actively used the online banking but are not aware on e-wallet, like the author.
Chart 6 : Potential of E-Wallet
Source: Oppotus
Going forward, it is believed that the players will have more valued added services binding together with their respective e-wallet product such as to leverage on the data for more personalized products and services such as delivery services and various customized solutions.
Remarkably, more players will likely to offer one-stop digital ecosystem platform which provides financial services, insurance, healthcare or travel services and other payments services at reduced cost compared to the traditional banks.
While the e-wallet is another exciting financial invention to ease users’ payment experience, the consolidation is inevitable. It is a crowded market indeed for a small market like Malaysia. Only best men win and stay.
REFERENCES
The Low Down
Oppotus
TheStar
Ringgit Plus
Vulcanpost
ECInsider
PWC
Nielsen
Imoney
Eatspring